12:25
Ascot
Odds correct as of 9:43am 16th Jan
We have an exciting seven-race card to look forward to at Ascot on Saturday and four of the races will be live on ITV. The feature race is the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase and it should be a cracker. Three Irish raiders are coming over and we’ve combined the most interesting of the two into a double. We’ve also assessed the chances of all three runners and one of them in particular looks very hard to beat. Take a look at our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Elman had three starts on the Flat for Johnny Murtagh and was beaten by a combined total of 64 lengths. That form is hardly encouraging but he ran well for a while over hurdles at Limerick over Christmas. He started to fade before the second-last and it was a tired fall at the next obstacle. A significant amount of improvement will be required if he’s to feature here.
Genealogy (33/1, bet365) is a bit more interesting, although the market disagrees. He’s an ex-Ballydoyle inmate and was a good winner of a mile maiden on the Flat for Aidan O’Brien. Denis Hogan’s gelding was a big price on his first start over hurdles and wasn’t disgraced back in eighth. Sam Twiston-Davies has been booked for the ride and an improved performance can’t be ruled out.
Il Etait Temps (8/13, bet365) was a hugely progressive novice chaser a couple of seasons ago and has developed into a very smart two-miler. This horse is a class-act and he won the Tingle Creek easily at Sandown when last seen. It’s hard to see Jonbon reversing the form here and Mullins’ gelding is well set to add another Grade 1 to his already impressive tally.
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